* A South Korean consortium signed a five-year deal with UAE’s Nawah Energy to maintain Barakah nuclear power plants, South Korea’s energy ministry said on Monday

* Under the deal, the consortium of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power and KEPCO KPS will be in charge of conducting maintenance on four nuclear power plants that are being built in Barakah by state-run Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO)

* The deal could be extended upon agreement between the UAE nuclear operator Nawah and the South Korean side, the ministry said in a statement

* The first of four Barakah nuclear reactors is expected to start operations between the end of 2019 and early 2020, Nawah said last year (Reporting By Jane Chung; editing by Uttaresh.V)